In Brief: Grad students travel to Costa Rica to learn sustainable farming practices

Posted by Jayme Blaschke University News Service April 30, 2014

Six graduate students in the Department of Agriculture at Texas State University will travel to Costa Rica May 14-28.

The trip, funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture grants, will provide an opportunity for Adriana Aleman, Erica Molina, Elise Valdes, Jessica Espinoza, David Vela and Shawntel Lopez to learn about sustainable farming practices in a country where those farming practices are prevalent. Because of its diversity of sustainable farming practices, Costa Rica offers our students a tremendous opportunity to learn about farming of pineapples, coffee, mangos, bananas and other specialty crops that are not commonly grown in the U.S.

Costa Rica also offers students the opportunity to learn about the fishing industry, as well as raising livestock in tropical climates. While in Costa Rica, students will visit EARTH University, which offers a rigorous academic program in agricultural sciences and natural resources management taught by a well–known international faculty.

For more information, contact Charles Rahe in the Department of Agriculture at (512) 245-3328 or via email at cr21@txstate.edu.